Connected with Yellow Eyes
by Yume Ookami
Summary: After having saved Black Jack's life, a strange wild girl is sent back in time and is mortally injured. Do the doctors of that era have any idea what is wrong with her? Why is she so comfortable around a small red haired man who smells of blood? Please read and review :) Rated K just in case someone finds anything questionable. Family pairing Kenshin, OC, Sanosuke, BJ and Pinako
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Jack or Rurouni Kenshin**

**Note: I called Black Jack, Jack, just for the ease of writing, sorry to those who don't like it.**

"Pinako?" the man ran from room to room, looking for his tiny companion, "PINAKO?!"

"Sir, are you alright?" an attendant asked when the black and white haired man ran into the corridor.

"The little girl who was with me, where did she go?" he asked breathing hard, panic starting to well up in his body at the disappearance of the cheerful child.

"I haven't seen her, you should ask the reception. They see everyone who enters and leaves this hotel," the man said before bowing and walking away. Jack ran down the stairs, taking them three at a time, his black coat billowing behind him as if it had a mind of its own. As soon as he reached the reception he quickly pulled Pinako's picture out of his wallet and showed it to the receptionist.

"Have you seen this girl?" he asked, gasping for breath. The man looked at the picture and frowned before nodding.

"She left 10 minutes ago saying something about buying groceries," Jack looked out of the window and saw that a blizzard was raging outside, his eyes widening in fear.

"Why didn't you stop her!?" he cried, slamming his hand down on the table.

"We tried Sir, but she slipped away when I took my eyes off her for a second," he bowed an apology. Jack snarled in anger and ran towards the exit only to have the receptionist stop him.

"Sir, it's too dangerous!" he yelled as he held back the struggling doctor.

"Pinako's out there!" he yelled, he knew that he was causing a scene but he didn't care.

"Please sir, calm down. We'll ring the rescue team, they have a dog that will be able to follow her scent," the man said, Jack stopped struggling and turned to look at him. The receptionist breathed a sigh of relief before letting go of the doctor and dialling the rescue team. He motioned for jack to take a seat which he did, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

Half an hour later he heard the door open and a gust of bitterly cold air washed over him. He looked up to see a gruff, heavy set man in a high Vis jacket.

"Do you have something with the girl's scent on?" he asked, Jack held out Pinako's apron which he had only just noticed was clasped tightly in his hand.

"With me," the man barked, he had already turned round and was walking back out of the door, Jack stared at him for a moment before following. The man led Jack through the snow storm to a jeep that, although newly parked, had half a foot of snow piled up against it. This only added to the worry the doctor was feeling for his little missing companion. The man opened the boot of the jeep and out jumped a massive dog, a St Bernard. The rescuer bent down and patted the dog on the head and connected its lead to the collar, he then motioned for Jack to hold out the apron so that the dog could recognise the scent.

As soon as the canine had sniffed the material it ran off in the other direction, its nose gliding across the surface of the snow, the two men running after it eager to find the lost child.

After what felt like a long time the dog froze, its tail between its legs.

"What's wrong? Has it lost the trail?" Jack asked fearing for Pinako.

"No, but we cannot go any further. That is the wolf territory. It's not safe for anyone," the man whispered afraid that the wolves would be able to hear him.

"Your girl must have been disorientated by the snow and walked here," the man said, Jack growled and headed into wolf territory before the man could stop him.

"PINAKO!" he yelled, hoping with all his heart that he would be able to hear her small voice over the noise of the storm. The cold crushed his lungs as he stumbled through the thick snow. He froze as a howl sounded nearby, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He started running towards the terrifying sound, his foot slipped and he rolled down the hill, his head hitting a tree on the way down.

"Pin…ako," he whispered, reaching out for the girl who was nowhere in sight, before losing consciousness.

* * *

She heard a howl and knew that one of the pack had found something. She walked up to the wild canine across the top of the snow and saw the wolf digging down into the snow.

Upon seeing a tiny hand sticking out of the snow the woman helped the wolf dig the child out and she lifted the unconscious girl into her arms. She wrapped the child inside her coat and tied her to her so that her body heat would warm the child whilst keeping her hands free.

A small growl left her throat as she turned to head towards the hotel, she knew she could leave the girl there and she would be well looked after. As she walked she came across another scent, one that was on the girl they had just found, though this time it was stronger. She noticed that the snow had been disturbed as if someone had fallen there; she walked up and held a tree in one hand as she looked over the edge of the hill. The landscape of the area she was in was as familiar to her as that back of her hand and she knew every dip and hump. She looked down to see a man dressed in black lying motionless, the snow next to the back of his head stained red.

She ran down the hill and knelt next to the man; she took a cloth from her pocket and held it to the back of his head to stop the already slowed bleeding. He groaned in pain and turned to look up at her, he froze at what he saw.

A young woman was leaning over him with fiery red hair dressed in furs and hides, her eyes held a feral wildness which made fear course through his body. All his instincts told him to run but his body refused to co-operate. She stared at him for a moment before grabbing his arm and, in a terrifying display of strength, pulled him up off the ground and onto her narrow shoulders.

The trip back to the hotel seemed shorter than when he had set out, and for a moment he had forgotten why he had been there in the first place.

"Pinako!" he murmured, jolting the woman carrying him as he moved to stand on his own.

"Pinako," the woman said softly, her blazing blue eyes turned to him, "is Pinako a small girl child?" she asked, her voice gruff with neglect. The doctor started and looked at her and nodded hesitantly.

"Don't worry about it," she said, she carried on walking, her firm grip pulling him along.

"What do you mean don't worry!" he yelled, she flinched as the volume of his voice hurt her ears.

"Trust me, the child is safe," her eyes telling him not to argue. He held his tongue and allowed her to half carry him back to the hotel.

When she neared the building's entrance the door opened to let them pass unhindered. Jack looked around as they passed the locals on their way to the doctor's room. He was shocked to see them bowing their heads as she passed by, none of them making eye contact. When they had gotten to the doctor's room, the door was already open and waiting for them, the attendant stood bent in a deep bow. After they had walked through the door the attendant closed it and she could hear his hurried footsteps as he rushed to put distance between himself and the wild child.

"Why were they all bowing to you?" Jack asked as she put him down onto the sofa.

"They are afraid and therefore, now, they respect me. It took a long time for them not to attack me, but now we have a mutual respect for each other. They don't attack me and I stay away from them as much as possible," she explained with a fanged grin. Jack nodded, understanding the peace of mutual respect. She found his medical bag and brought it to him and he patched himself up after he gave her a warning glare when she had tried to open his bag.

As she watched him wrap a bandage around his head she felt the child strapped to her chest under her clothes shift as she began to awaken. The woman chuckled before beginning to remove the clothes from the top half of her body.

"What are you doing!?" Jack cried, looking at her as if she had gone mad.

"Don't get your hopes up, boyo," she laughed as she brought down the final layer just as Pinako opened her eyes.

"Sensei?" she asked hesitantly, bleary eyed. Jack stared in shock at the girl, who was tied to the woman's chest, he was vaguely grateful that the woman was wearing a vest top. She reached up and held the tiny child with one hand whilst she untied her from her body and gave her to Jack who held her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him.

"Thank you," he breathed before tearing his eyes away from Pinako to look at the woman who was putting all her hides back on.

"I don't even know your name, mine is Black Jack and this girl is Pinako," he started. She walked to the door and looked back to him whilst opening it.

"Kiba," she whispered, before walking through it and out of sight.

* * *

An hour later Jack had a phone call from the reception.

"Forgive me for being rude but… has the woman you arrived with left yet?" Jack could hear the clear dislike in the man's voice when he spoke of Kiba.

"Yes, she left an hour ago," he replied finding it odd that the receptionist, a man who supposedly saw everyone who entered and left the establishment, would not notice her leave. Unless she hadn't left, the thought went through the two men's minds at the same time. The receptionist swore down the phone and hung up. It was only then that the doctor realised how tenuous the mutual respect was. If she made one wrong move then the people would mob her, he could hear a growing number of angry voices gathering outside his room.

"They're the ones that brought her here! It's their fault that she is now running loose around here," one voice said, there was a harsh murmur of agreement and the sounds of weapons being readied. The doctor with Pinako in his arms to the bathroom and locked the door, he sat in the bath unsure of what else to do as he heard the room's front door being hit by a heavy object in the people's attempt to open it. He curled up around Pinako and for the first time in his life, praying earnestly to the God he could only hope existed. Without him noticing, the noises began to die away and were replaced with bird song.

He hesitantly opened his eyes and saw that they were at the bottom of a well, which from the feel of the ground hadn't held water for a long time. He told Pinako to hold on tightly to him so that she wouldn't fall off when he climbed up the well wall. As soon as he slipped over the top of the well and placed his feet on solid ground he realised something with on glance around.

"Somehow, we are no longer in modern Japan," he murmured, trying not to notice the weird looks he was getting from the locals.


	2. Chapter 2

Kiba walked towards the elevator trying not to look at the people around her. She pressed the button and waited with her eyes closed, not wanting to see the accusing glares from the locals.

The air smelt fresh as the elevator doors opened, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end when she smelt the faint scent of iron on the wind. After living in the wild for so long she knew the smell, it was the scent of a fresh kill.

Unbidden, her stomach rumbled, her instincts called her to follow the scent; her wolf like movements allowing her to move through the dense forest without making a sound. As she broke through the edge of the forest she froze, an inhuman snarl ripping from her throat; her beastly hunger disappearing instantly at the sight in front of her. Bodies littered the ground, the evidence left behind after a battle. The clash of steel making her flinch, she slowly crept up the hill and glanced over the brow of the hill. Men ran around in the fray swinging their swords. To her eyes at least half of the soldiers looked like boys who were barely out of childhood. The sky suddenly darkened over the battlefield, Kiba looked up to see a volley of arrows so thick it blocked out the sun.

Her sharp eyes picked out a couple of arrows that were flying stray towards her position. She knew that she wouldn't be able to dodge them so she laid still and prayed that they wouldn't hit her.

Pain pierced her back and through her chest. A pained howl tore from her throat, freezing the hearts of the soldiers still alive, causing them to cease fighting. They all turned to look up at her as she crawled over the brim of the hill, agonising snarls terrifying the men. A medic ran up to her, pushing his fear away as he continued towards her, intent on doing his job. He reached out and touched the shaft of the arrow only to have her whip around and snarl at him, her sharp teeth promising pain.

"Someone! Help me hold her down!" he cried, the general ran over and held her shoulders down so that she couldn't move.

"Ok, 3, 2," he pulled the arrow out of her back, in her agony she managed to bit the general's arm, her fangs easily sinking into it.

"The arrow head is still inside, I don't have enough skill to remove it," the medic said his voice far away due to Kiba's half conscious mind.

"Then I will take her back to Edo with me, a friend of mine knows an experienced doctor," the general said in a pained voice as he held his bleeding arm.

Kiba suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air, her instinct was to struggle but at that moment in time she didn't have enough strength. Her eyelids closed on their own and she quickly fell asleep.

In the back of her mind, the subconscious part of her brain knew that she was moving. It kept her alert to everything going on around her; despite this, it did not disturb her rest, she was used to this never sleeping sense of hers.

It wasn't until she had been laid down on a futon and left alone was she roused from her slumber. Her sharp eyes flickered open and her hackles rose, not used to waking up in a room, she felt caged. She sent out her senses to find the position of everyone in the house.

"Welcome back to Edo, Sir," a man said, his voice slightly muffled by the walls.

Kiba slowly got to her feet and silently opened the door to the outside. She ran and jumped off the walkway, wincing slightly at the pain in her chest. It had worn off a little since the last time she was awake so she wasn't sure how long she had slept; her bare feet allowing her to run silently to the surrounding wall. With one leap she was able to catch the top of the wall with her hands and pulled herself up. She mentally grumbled to herself knowing that normally she would have been able to jump over the wall with ease. She heaved herself up over the wall and ran down the street away from the entrance to the estate.

* * *

It was near dawn when she heard a female yell out.

"Yahiko, time to get up," the shrill voice hurt her ears.

"Miss Kaoru, he can sleep a little longer. It's not yet dawn," a male voice said; it was so gentle that Kiba couldn't help but walk towards it following the road.

Just before she made it to the entrance she began to cough. It felt like she was choking, she couldn't catch her breath; the more she tried the harsher the coughs became. She fell to her knees, her hand on the wall holding herself up, the other covering her mouth. Suddenly she felt a strong hand pat her on the back; she grabbed the hand as if it was the only thing keeping her alive.

"Hey Missy, it's alright," the man said, worry in his voice. His deep voice calmed her and let her take a breath. She fell forward as the strength left her body; he caught before she could hit her on the floor.

"Sano, bring her inside," Kenshin said as he watched her collapse, he had come running as soon as he had heard her begin to cough.

"Sorry," she whispered, Sanosuke shook his head as he slipped an arm under her legs and pulled her into the air with ease. This time she felt safe nestled against the man's chest. She looked down at the man walking beside them, his red hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. The strangest thing she noticed was that he smelt vaguely of blood, a scent that only someone who had killed on a mass scale would gain. The man who held her had the muscles of a fighter and she knew that he also had taken down a fair few people in his time. He carried her through the front doors of a dojo and followed the red haired man to a spare room where he quickly laid down a futon for her to rest on.

Sanosuke laid her gently down then turned to leave but stopped when he felt a soft tug on his jacket.

"Please don't go," she whispered, turning her head to look at him, "I don't want to be alone." He looked at her for a moment before sitting down, leaning on the wall in her line of sight.

"Why were you alone before?" He asked out of curiosity.

"Someone picked me up and moved me away from where I had lost my pack," she whispered. Sano looked at her for a moment before saying the question on his mind.

"What do you mean by pack?" he asked curiously.

"I live with a wolf pack and have done ever since I can remember," she looked at him unsure of what he would say. Instead of saying anything he stood and she felt her heart sink. He walked up and sat next to her, close enough that she could reach out and touch him.

"Wolves are family animals, they stay close together," he said grinning when he saw her shocked face.

"You are indeed a strange one," she laughed gently, "most people run away when they hear that I am a wolfling." He shrugged and sat silently watching over her; he had noticed her eyes getting heavy and started to slowly drift closed.

"Sano?" the tall man looked round and saw Kenshin standing in the doorway, his forehead creased in worry.

"We'll get Doctor Gensai and Megumi-san over tomorrow to have a look at her," Sano said before reaching down to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face.

"She can stay here," Kaoru slipped her head around the open door. Sano nodded and turned to watch over the sleeping woman.

The next day Kiba awoke to a number of hushed voices that were echoing around her. Silently she sniffed the air and mentally recoiled at the scent of worry that permeated the air, she could not smell malice on anyone in the room so she released the tension that had been building up in her muscles. Sanosuke had noticed her tense and then relax but said nothing about it. Her eyes flickered open slowly so that the people around her wouldn't notice her awakened state. Her sharp eyes flicked from person to person, instantly memorising their faces and scents. She turned to look up at Sano who met her eyes for a moment before looking back at the group. As quietly as she could, she slipped out off of the futon and hid behind Sano. She leant her head against his broad back, steeling herself before facing the humans in front of him. Her instincts called for her to flee, the previous treatment she had had from them was still sore in her memory. She felt a hand on her side and looked up to see Sanosuke had reached back with a comforting hand. She grasped it gratefully and allowed him to lead her round until she was sat in his lap, her back pressed against his chest. She could feel his fingers going through her hair taming the mess. A deep purr rumbled through her chest as she felt his hands in her hair. They were too busy with each other to realise that everyone had stopped talking and were watching them. His hand slipped and brushed her neck, instantly goose bumps rose on her arms and her hackles rose. She turned and snarled warningly at him, he just stared at her in shock, his fingers sending electric shocks down her spine. She leant towards him and reached up, her teeth around his neck putting a little pressure on it, making it hard for him to breathe. He pulled his hand away from her neck and she removed herself from his neck. She looked into his eyes and saw confusion and fear in his eyes.

"Sorry," She whispered before running out of the room, trying to keep as much distance between her and the people who were staring at her.

"Wait!" Sano ran after her, his red head band ribbons flying behind him. He caught up with her in the garden, his hand gripping her wrist and spun her round to face him; he froze at the haunted look in her eyes. He couldn't help but reach out his hand and cup her face. She flinched at his touch, her fear of him obvious.

"Why do you fear me?" he asked gently, his voice no more than a whisper. She looked away from him and crouched, her eyes fixed on the nearest flower.

"Humans don't like wolves, they blame us for killing their livestock, the animals they are raising to die," she started.

"But wolves do, don't they?" he wondered out loud, she sighed.

"We only kill what we need to survive. One day, when I was still a pup, the winter was more vicious than normal and my pack had to move away from the safety of the forest in search of food. We found a flock of sheep in a field and watched it from downwind to find which animal was the weakest. Soon into our examination we found an older ewe that was past young baring age and we began our hunt. It was unfortunate that the farmer's neighbour was jealous of the large amount of sheep that the farmer had reared and had decided on that exact evening to attack the flock with his dogs. Our presence there made it seem like all the killings were done by wolfen kind. The humans set up a hunt and I was able to get my pack to safety before I got caught," he could see her body trembling as she spoke, her arms tightly wrapped around her.

"They collared me in the dark, it felt like I was constantly being strangled," her haunted eyes gaining a pained look, "It wasn't the last time I have had bad experiences with humans. Every time there was a problem, we wolves were blamed, despite the fact that they were caused by others." She turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry I over reacted when you touched my neck. I have been strangled by humans many times but it isn't just that. In a wolf pack you only bare your neck to the alpha and he is the only one allowed to touch it," she said, he nodded and frowned.

"I have a feeling that Kenshin would be our alpha," he wondered out loud.

"The red haired man who smells liked blood?" she asked, Sano stared at her in shock before nodding numbly. She walked towards him and stopping in front of him.

"I will stay with your pack for now but do not forget that I am a lone wolf," she growled, he looked at her for a moment before laughing.

"Well then, Missy," he chuckled, "You'll fit in just fine here. We are all lone wolves who have come together for our own sanity and protection," he held out a hand which she took and he led her back to the room.

"You seem to be getting along well," Kiba could hear the envy in the fox-like woman's voice.

"Merely one wolf acknowledging another," she said, padding silently over to sit in the space they had just vacated.

"Wolf?" Megumi asked confused, but at the shake of Sanosuke's head she dropped her question.

"I have met a wolfling before but he was vastly different from you. He couldn't speak our words, his eyes also shone with a wolfen glow," Kenshin said leaning an arm on his upright knee.

"He probably hasn't come into much contact with you humans, therefore he hasn't had to learn words," she said her eyes meeting his, "As for our eyes, I wouldn't say that they are that different."

"Your eyes appear human, that they do," he said his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Are you sure you want to see?" she asked, a fanged grin stretching across her face. He nodded, tension rolling off his body, causing everyone else in the room to go silent.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, suddenly all the hairs rose on the backs of everyone's necks, goose bumps chilling their skin. A growl sounded from the girls lips making everyone but Kenshin and Sano to back away by a couple of feet. She opened her eyes slowly and fixed them on Kenshin. Her once blue irises had turned a golden yellow and were piercing him. His hair bristled and freed itself from the low ponytail he wore, his eyes changing as he slipped into the Battosai's persona.

"It's been a long time since I've met a being who can meet my eyes with a glare that has as much intensity as my own," she growled back, her voice guttural. She prowled up to him and snarled in his face, a challenge to test his strength. He met it with a killer's joy and he tossed her across the room before pinning her to the ground. He was sat on her waist, straddling her with one of his hands holding the both of hers above her head. She snarled at him, her fangs glinting dangerously in the light. With other hand he pushed his thumb behind her bottom jaw, forcing her head up exposing her throat. Her snarl turned to a whimper as he lowered himself down and pressed his teeth against her throat. She froze for a moment before relaxing, a rumbling sound coming from her chest. He sat up and looked into her eyes and watched as they shifted back to blue. She was panting, her hair haloing around her.

"Alpha," she whispered breathlessly, he grinned before getting off of her and sitting back in his original seat. Kaoru hesitantly crawled up to him, fear clear in her eyes when she saw that he was the Battosai at that point.

"Kenshin?" the man blinked as his name slipped from her mouth. He turned towards her, the yellow fading from his eyes turning back to their ordinary colour.

"What is it, Miss Kaoru?" he asked blinking at her with a confused expression his face.

"Oh Kenshin," her eyes filled with tears and launched herself into his arms making him "Oro".

"I'm so glad you're back to your normal self," she cried out in joy. This broke the tension in the room making everyone relax, Sano chuckled at the picture of Kaoru shaking Kenshin telling him off for being so reckless.

"Oh that's right," Yahiko spoke up; everyone looked at him as he turned to the red haired wolfling.

"You never told us your name," he said, her eyes widened in surprise and she smiled gently.

"Kiba," she answered, Yahiko smiled in delight at the fact that she had actually answered him.

"Well Kiba," Sanosuke grinned down at her, "Welcome to the Pack."


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a couple of weeks since Kiba had begun freeloading at the Kamiya Dojo. The daily routines of cleaning, walking into town with Kenshin, relaxing with Sano and having various medical examinations with Dr Gensai and Megumi had become second nature, although she could have done without the last one. Being poked and prodded by the two doctors who had no idea what ailed her was not her idea of fun.

After a slightly longer session than normal Kiba walked through the house and sat by Sanosuke watching Kenshin play with Dr Gensai's two granddaughters. She chuckled as they pulled him this way and that, demanding his concentration and attention. Pain struck her chest, a sure sign that she would start coughing; reluctantly she pulled a cloth from her kimono sleeve and managed to get it to her mouth in time to catch the first choking cough.

"Kiba!" Kenshin noticed her movements and ran up to her after telling the two girls to go find Yahiko and ask him to play with them.

"They've been getting more frequent and more exhausting," Sanosuke said, he had seen her hiding around corners or had heard her in the middle of the night. It was obvious she didn't want people to know that the condition of her health was going downhill. Kenshin looked back at Kiba, his eyebrows creased in worry.

"Kiba!" Kaoru came running round the corner, Megumi fast on her heels.

"Breathe, Kiba, breathe," she kept saying, patting the girl on the back.

"Stop…that," Kiba managed to gasp out, anger clear in her eyes. After a few minutes, her coughing calmed and she took a couple of deep breaths trying to get her heart rate under control. Quickly, so no one could see, she folded the cloth and put it back into her pocket.

"I see the problem now," Megumi started, a triumphant look in her eyes.

"If you dare say that I was hyperventilating, so help me I will rip off your head and use it as a ball," Kiba snarled, flexing her hands at the all too real threat.

"What else can it be!?" Megumi threw her hands up into the air. Never had she had as much trouble with a patient like she had with Kiba.

As Kiba stood, the cloth fell out of her pocket and before she could pick it up, Kaoru caught it and unfolded in her hand. She gasped at the crimson stain of new blood on it.

"Kiba!" Kaoru cried, she grabbed the shoulder of the woman who had started to walk away.

"Don't, Kaoru," Kiba warned wearily, she reached up and pulled a hand through her hair. She pulled her shoulder out of Kaoru's grasp and walked towards the dojo's entrance.

"Where do you think you are going?!" Kaoru caught her shoulder again before she could walk out of the compound.

"Stop it Kaoru, I'm fine," Kiba said, pushing past her and out into the street.

"You are not fine. Come back inside," she demanded. She shook her head and took off running, narrowly missing a tiny girl with a reddish brown bob.

"Miss Kaoru, I'll go after her," Kenshin said stepping into his sandals. She nodded and turned away with a frown on her face. The red haired man walked out and crouched down beside the girl Kiba had almost hit and smiled gently at her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, she looked up and nodded before looking behind Kenshin and smiled broadly.

"Sensei," she squealed before launching herself into the man's arms. Kenshin stood and turned only to freeze in shock at the man's appearance. His hair was black and white and his face held two colours of skin.

"Pinako," the man's voice was gentle despite the fact he was scolding the tiny child, "I thought I lost you. Don't run off again."

He bowed to Kenshin before turning away and walking off, the small girl dancing around in front of him. Kenshin grinned before running off in the direction Kiba had disappeared in.

It didn't take him long to find her, she was sat alone staring at the river, watching the fish as they swam around looking for food.

"I thought this is where I could find you," Kenshin said quietly as he sat down beside her.

"I can't go back, I'm sorry Kenshin," though her voice was no louder than a whisper, he heard it tremble, "I can't take being locked in a room for the rest of my life."

He reached out and gently wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her to him; she placed her head on his shoulder.

"You have always been a free child, that you have," he laughed and felt her chuckle.

They sat there for an hour watching the sun slowly slip from the sky.

"Look Doc, that's the girl who didn't say sorry when she almost barged into me," Kenshin heard a high pitched voice say, he turned his head and saw the young girl called Pinako waving at them, the doctor behind. He started when he saw the shocked expression on the doctor's face.

"What's wrong?" Kiba sat up and followed Kenshin's line of sight to see Black Jack and his assistant standing there in front of them. She gasped, her breath caught in the back of her throat and she choked.

"Kiba!" Kenshin cried as she held her chest as vicious coughs wracked her body. Her eyes flew open and she quickly put a hand over her mouth, her pained expression deepening with every cough. She pulled away from Kenshin and crawled slowly away from him, she snarled dangerously when he tried to follow but that increased the severity of her coughing fit.

What's the matter with her?" Jack asked when he ran up, his eyes fixed on the girl in front of him who was struggling to breathe, her coughs becoming hoarse as her throat began to close up.

"We don't know, even Miss Megumi, the town doctor doesn't know how to help her," Kenshin punched the ground in frustration. Jack ran up to her and put a hand on her back and felt the shudders each cough caused her body. She suddenly gagged and her nails dug into the ground, sending her knuckles white. He brought a hand down hard on her back and she vomited everything out onto the grass; she gasped and tipped forward exhausted, jack caught her before she could land in her own vomit, he put an arm round her back and the other arm under her legs and hoisted her into the air.

"Sir, take us to this Megumi's clinic," he demanded, Kenshin nodded quickly and lead the way. Pinako, out of a nurse's curiosity, ran up and looped where Kiba had been kneeling and gasped in shock as she saw that the grass had been stained crimson by the copper haired woman's blood..

She ran off after Black Jack and carried his medical bag, staying by his side as she looked up at the girl in his arms, worry clearly evident on her face.

"Doctor," Pinako's voice wavered as she bit her bottom lip, her eyes filling up with tears.

"She'll be alright, but I'll need your help," he looked down at her seriously; she nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Kiba looked up at jack with unfocused eyes, her hand weakly holding the edge of his cloak and her head nestled on his chest.

He felt her body tense under his arms and he gripped her tighter, knowing that she was fighting the urge to cough. As he watched, a trickle of blood escaped from her mouth and trailed down her chin.

"Stay with me," he whispered, his voice rumbling through his chest into her ear. Pinako dug through her pockets and pulled out a handkerchief, which she reached up and gave to Kiba who looked at it blankly.

"Keep it," she whispered, looking up at the frail girl in her 'husband's' arms. Kiba reached down and gently took the piece of cloth from the girl, her face creased into a frown of concentration, trying not to drop the cloth that Pinako offered to her. She brought it to her mouth and wiped off the blood before spitting the blood from her mouth into it, letting the cloth soak up the offending fluid. She watched as the white of the handkerchief turn read and bowed her head in guilt at ruining Pinako's possession.

"Don't worry about it," Jack whispered, "I'll buy her a new one in town, when I go next."

Kiba smiled before coughing into the cloth again, as the blood spread through it Jack quickened his steps which meant that Pinako had to run to keep up.

"Look, we're almost there," Jack said gently, Kiba weakly turned her head to see the clinic sign hung on the edge of the road, Kenshin made it there first.

"Miss Megumi!" he cried, the long haired woman ran out with Kaoru on her heels, "We need a room." The expression on his face showed that he was deadly serious; they looked up from him and saw Jack walking into the yard with Kiba nestled in his arms.

"Follow me," Megumi said urgently and led them to a room at the back of the house.

"Kenshin, what happened?" Kaoru asked as she watched Black Jack gently lie Kiba down on the futon.

"She had another attack, though this one was the worst by far," he whispered, his bangs shadowing his eyes. Kaoru gasped and stared down at the strong woman who had been reduced to such a frail state by her own body.

"Pinako," Jack murmured, "take the others into the other room and introduce us whilst I check her vitals," Pinako nodded and pulled Kenshin out of the room after asking everyone to step out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Black Jack slowly took Kiba's short kimono off her shoulders, thankful of the bandages she had wrapped around her chest. He held the end of the stethoscope in one hand warming it as he used the other to cover her with a blanket to keep her warm.

He leant over her and gently put the metal onto her skin, listening first to her heart rate before moving it down so he could listen to her lungs.

"Breathe in as deep as you can," he instructed her, as she did so he listened to the sounds her lungs were making and frowned. He moved the end to the other side and asked her to breathe in again. As she began to breathe in her breath caught in her throat and began to cough. He held her for a moment against the floor trying to listen to her coughing but she fought him desperately. He let go the instant she began to choke and helped her turn onto her side, his stethoscope still pressed to her chest.

Pinako ran into the room and spread out a cloth o the floor. Blood splattered from her mouth as she coughed uncontrollably, her hands gripping the blanket that had been placed over her. Pained whimpers slipped through her gritted teeth as she gasped for the precious air she desperately needed.

Megumi slammed the door open and ran in, her hand slipped under her and lifted her up so that she was sat, the cloth in her hand gently wiping off the blood from Kiba's face.

Kiba snarled in pain before weakly pushing Megumi away as she knelt, her head on the floor, holding her arms around her body as if she was trying to hold herself together.

"There's nothing more I can do for her, other than letting her stay here for her last few days," Megumi said, her sad eyes looking at the red haired woman who was curled in pain, her coughing becoming less. Jack looked at the fox like woman with a thunderous expression on his face.

"So, you have already given up on her," he murmured, Megumi slapped him, the harsh sound echoing around the room.

"Sensei," Pinako whispered, tears springing to her eyes as she watched Jack's cheek redden. His eyes hardened dangerously for a moment before he looked at Megumi who was weeping, the female doctor quickly stood up and left the room, shutting the doors behind her.

Jack started when he heard a thud behind him and turned to see that Kiba was now lying on her side, facing him.

"Don't worry about it," she said, her voice rasping from the attack she had just suffered, "I already know she can't do anything. Medicine isn't very advanced at the moment; the higher ups' of this country were too involved in the war to spend their money on something like the development of medicine until 10 years ago. Even now they are too concerned with lining their own pockets rather than taking care of their subjects."

Black Jack stared at her, soaking in the information she was disclosing to him. He noticed shameful glint in her eye and suddenly he knew her secret.

"You know what's wrong with you, don't you?" he whispered, Pinako gasped and span round just in time to see a guilty grimace flash across her face, she nodded.

"I know that your lungs are filled with liquid but you don't have any symptoms of any disease that would cause it," he said, she smiled at him.

"it's not a disease, it's an old wound," she whispered, her eyes flickering in and out of focus as she felt exhaustion take over her body.

Jack walked over to her and gently picked her up to lie her back down on the futon.

"No," she whispered, "Prop me up against the wall, it eases my pain."He nodded and did as she asked before wrapping the blanket around her. She mouthed her thanks, too exhausted to even speak and her eyelids slowly closed, hiding her ocean blue eyes from view.

"Sensei," Pinako whispered, fear in her eyes. Jack's face creased into a frown and approached her when she beckoned. She pointed at the floor where Kiba had been knelt coughing, his eyes widened as he saw the sheer amount of blood that the small red haired woman had coughed up.

"Pinako, go ask either Megumi-san or Kenshin if we can have a rag and a bucket of water. We need to clear this up before it stains," he whispered, Pinako ran off, silently opening and closing the door. Jack sat down next to Kiba, making sure that he didn't wake her and watched for any changes in her breathing patterns.

10 minutes later, Pinako crept back in, followed by Kenshin who quickly started clearing up the blood on the floor, clearly Pinako had told him what had happened in the room and wasn't surprised as he already knew that Kiba would vomit blood during her coughing fits.

"Is she alright?" he whispered, the worry he felt for her obvious in his eyes. Black Jack nodded and sighed.

"Yeah, she's resting now," he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the headache which was beginning to make itself known.

"Sensei," the red haired man caught Jack's attention, "I'll watch her. Please, get some rest." Black Jack opened his mouth and was about to argue when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Pinako rubbing her eyes in an effort to stay awake. He smiled down at her and pulled her into his arms; Kenshin gently put a blanket over them before sitting on the other side of Kiba and settled himself down for a sleepless night.

Black Jack woke roughly two hours before dawn when a weight suddenly dropped onto his shoulder. He turned to see a head of red hair and realised that Kiba must have slipped sideways in her sleep.

"She hasn't made a sound all night," Kenshin whispered, his head drooping tiredly.

"Thank you for watching over us," he said as he wrapped Pinako in the blanket that was covering both of them and laid her on the floor, "surely you would want to be asleep right now, I'll keep watch now." Kenshin nodded and slowly moved his tired bones out of the room and towards the room he shared with Kaoru.

As soon as he was sure that Kenshin was gone, Jack slowly and carefully wrapped his arms around the frail woman and positioned her so that her back was resting on one of his arms and he head was nestled in his chest.

"Pinako won't be very happy if she wakes to see you holding me like this," he started at the voice and looked down to see Kiba smiling up at him. He sighed and brushed a lock of hair out of her face.

"You said you knew what is ailing you, will you tell me?"he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have internal bleeding," he stared at her in shock, "When I arrived in this time I was near to a battle field. They fired a volley of arrows and unfortunately I was hit," with a slow movement she motioned to a small scar on her back, "A medic found me and tried to remove it but fortunately for me the shaft came out leaving the arrow head wedged inside me."

"Fortunately?" Black Jack asked in disbelief.

"The arrow head pierced my lung, if the medic had pulled out the head as well, I would have died soon after from heavy internal bleeding. The arrow head is wedged in my lung so tightly its almost like a plug; however if I move in a certain way, it displaces the metal allowing blood to enter my lung and hence the coughing fits. It's just my body's way of keeping itself from drowning," she whispered. Black Jack frowned in concentration for a moment as he took what she had said on board. He suddenly felt a flick to his forehead and looked down to see Kiba smiling at him.

"You frown too much," she said before she started to giggle quietly. He marvelled at how lively her laugh sounded despite the shadow of death she had been leaving which for goodness knows how long.

He suddenly noticed her hand tighten around his shirt as she began to cough; before she could pull away from him he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"It's okay, I've got you," he said gently as he held her, feeling each spasm her muscles went through as he coughing shook her entire body. She went silent despite the spasms her body were going through and he realised that she didn't want to get any blood on his shirt.

"It's okay," he whispered again, "You can let it out." She shook her head, Jack lifted an arm from around her waist and placed it on the top of her head.

"Let it all out," he whispered. She pushed her face into his shirt and whimpered. Tears began to flow down her face as she cried for the first time in a very long time. He held her as he felt her blood and tears soak into his shirt, staining it with her life.

"I can save you," he felt her still when he whispered that, "I have the skills to remove the arrow head and close up your wound."

"I had almost given up hope," she whimpered, scarcely believing that this man, whom she saved what seemed so long ago, would return the favour, in a time when everyone had given up on her and treated her as if she were a being made of glass.

"Almost," he hummed, "that's a good sign, it means that you haven't given up hope just yet." He grinned in the dark. She sniffed and let out a chuckle, she turned her head and looked at the faint light coming through the paper of the door.

"Can we watch the dawn?" she asked him, he smiled and nodded. Jack stood and picked her up, slid the door open and was greeted with a sky that had been painted with so many colours it was breathtaking. He slid the door closed behind him and sat with his back resting on a pillar and Kiba resting against his chest, her head tucked under his chin. He pulled the blanket around them and wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm. She sighed and closed her eyes, letting the warm light caress her face, Jack smiled for a moment before closing his own eyes, his face relaxing as he fell asleep.

He woke to the sound of footsteps walking towards them and sleepily looked up at Kaoru and Kenshin as they approached him. He grimaced when he shifted, the pole digging into his back. He coughed painfully and grimaced again.

"Sensei, are you alright?" Kenshin walked up to the man who was lying on the floor. Jack looked up and tried to speak but he couldn't find his voice at that moment. He nodded slowly, a frown appearing on his face.

"He doesn't look so good. Kenshin, I think we should move him inside," Kaoru said gently, Kenshin nodded. Jack sighed and leaned his head back on the pillar and tightened his grip on the woman asleep in his arms. The rest of his body was still asleep and wasn't reacting to the commands he was giving it.

Kaoru lifted up the blanket and gasped, catching sight of the blood on his shirt as well as Kiba lying there unmoving with her eyes closed, blood staining her chin where she had forgotten to wipe it.

"Kenshin," Kaoru started before tearing up and a sob cut off what she was going to say. She pulled away the blanket to let her red haired lover see what was hidden beneath. The man's eyes widened and crouched down beside the doctor.

"I'm going to touch her, okay?"Kenshin said slowly and clearly as he slowly reached out his hand. Jack looked at him as if he had grown two heads, not understanding why the man was treating him so delicately. Kenshin put his hand Kiba's neck and Jack felt her hand, which was clutching his shirt, tighten, so on instinct he tightened his arms around her. Kenshin froze for a second, checking Black Jack's eyes for any sign of attack before carrying on what he was going to do. He placed two fingers on his neck and searched for her pulse. He closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated on his task then sighed in relief.

"It's fine, she's only sleeping," he whispered, Kaoru broke down into tears of happiness and hugged Kenshin who Oro'ed.

"I could have told you that," Jack rasped out, his body finally deciding to wake up. Kenshin jumped in surprise before he began to laugh.

"I thought that you were in shock, that I did. You weren't moving or speaking and you clutched at her so tightly when I tried to take her pulse," the red head shook his head, "Can you blame us for fearing the worst, after all that's happened." Jack snorted but didn't make a move to get up, he didn't want to disturb her now she was getting some rest. He knew that she would need as much rest as possible for the surgery he was going to perform on her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Her eyes opened as a gust of cold air chilled her face; she could hear someone's heart beat in her war, as well as the muffled sound of talking. She remembered what had happened before she had fallen asleep and realised that she must have been sleeping several hours because the sun was shining brightly.

"But Sensei, why are you holding her so tightly?"She heard a young voice say. As comfortable as she was, the emotion in her voice made her look round.

"Pinako, she asked me if she could see the dawn but she was too weak to hold herself up. You've seen how ill she is," Jack retorted gently, no one had noticed that Kiba had woken up.

"But Sensei," she whined, stamping her foot.

"Pinako," she whispered, making them all jump, "please forgive the doctor, he did nothing wrong." The little girl stared at her for a moment before nodding slowly.

"If you say so, I'll forgive him," she said gently, she walked up to him and hugged his side, making sure that she didn't jolt Kiba.

"Pinako, we're going to operate on Kiba," Jack said, the little girl looked from him to her for a moment before nodding and running to find his bag. Jack helped Kiba to sit up on her own before he stood and stretched, popping his joints. He picked her up bridal style and carried her back to her room, her hand tightly holding his shirt in a fist. He pit her down against the wall and began to prepare the room, creating a tall bed that she could lie on during the operation. Pinako ran in with his bag and he set up the portable operation theatre. The oil in the torches where checked and refilled so that they would last the whole procedure. After they had finished preparing, Jack picked up Kiba and gently placed her on the bed.

"This might hurt a little," he said holding a syringe and cleaned her arm with a piece of cotton wool. She nodded and looked away, wincing when he pushed the needle into her arm. She started when her vision began to go blurry but she relaxed when Jack pit his hand on her shoulder, making hushing sounds. She closed her eyes and let oblivion take her.

The instant her breathing slowed, Jack flew into action connecting the breathing equipment.

"Let's do this," he said to Pinako who handed him a scalpel.

* * *

"What's going on in there?" Kaoru asked, trying to push past Sanosuke who was blocking the way.

"He's operation on her," Megumi said, coming up from behind them, "If you went in there now you would break his concentration and the girl would die." Kaoru stopped struggling and stared at the fox woman whilst biting her lip. Kenshin put his hands on her shoulders and led her to an empty patch of walkway to sit down. He sat down next to her and held her hand, stroking the back of it with her thumb.

"Kiba is a strong girl, that she is. Just have faith in her," he said comforting her. She leaned against him which her head on his shoulder as they sat waiting for news on her friend. Megumi paced around being unused to being the person outside the room. In the end she began to drive Sano insane so he stopped her movements by pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms around her.

Two and a half hours later the door opened and Jack stepped out, taking off the cap that was covering his hair.

"Doctor, how is she?" Sano asked before anyone else had a chance to.

"She's just fine," he smiled looking back into the room, "her self-diagnosis was very accurate. There was a point in time when her life was in danger but with Pinako's help she was able pull through."

"Pinako's help?" Megumi asked shocked. Jack nodded and picked up the yawning child who was standing by his feet.

"She was in charge of keeping the blood entering into Kiba's lung to a minimum. Because she did her job to the best of her ability, Kiba survived," Jack said seriously looking down at the young girl who had fallen asleep in his arms.

"Doctor?" Black Jack turned to see Kenshin frowning, "What do you mean by self-diagnosis?" Megumi started and stared at the man with wide eyes.

"Kiba knew what was wrong with her," the scarred doctor looked at Megumi, "she didn't want to say anything just in case you tried to cure her."

"Of course I would try to cure her, why shouldn't I?!"

"Her situation was very precarious. If you had tried to remove the offending object with this country's level of medical knowledge, Kiba would have died. No if's or buts she would have certainly died," he said firmly, he needed her to understand that he wasn't trying to take her position of town physician.

"Well, you'll have to stay here whilst she recovers. As payment for the rooms that you will use, I will have you teach me some of your methods for treating patients, " she narrowed her eyes at him, "And I won't take no for an answer." He looked shocked for a moment then smiled, the look in his eye softening.

"I would be honored to."

* * *

Her eyes slowly flickered open and her vision focused to stare up at the ceiling above her. She turned her head and saw that, whilst she had been asleep, everyone had crept into the room and were sat around her in various stages of drowsiness. Sanosuke was lying fast asleep on his back beside her, his arm behind his head.

"How are you feeling?" Jack's soft voice reached her ears and she turned to see him sat on her left.

"Better that I have since I came here, there is no pain when I breathe," Tears of joy glittered in her eyes, "thank you."

"You need to stay in bed for a couple of days just to make sure you do not reopen your wound," she nodded and made no effort to sit up. Kenshin looked up at them and saw a smile on her face.

"To be able to run freely, to laugh without fear of having a coughing fit, it sounds almost unreal," she whispered. Jack smiled and brushed a lock of hair out of her face.

* * *

Two days later at midday, everyone was sat around a table waiting for Kaoru to bring in their lunch. She had just placed all the dishes in front of them when the sliding door opened. Kiba stood there, her red hair framing her face.

"Why are you up? I told you to stay in bed," Jack scolded, beginning to get to his feet.

"I don't like eating on my own and I'm beginning to go stiff from all this lying around," she walked in and sat down next to him. He huffed and sat back down. Pinako piled up a plate with food and gave it to the girl to stop her moving around so much.

When she thought that no one was watching, she reached forward and picked up a piece of sushi and ate it within a millisecond. She looked up to see Kenshin watching her intently, his violet eyes ringed with yellow as his Battosai instinct bristled. She bit her lip and looked away from his piercing gaze ad began eating the food Pinako had given her. No one had noticed their gazes as they were watching Sanosuke and Yahiko fighting over a piece of food.

"I want to check how you are healing after we have finished eating?" Jack spoke in a tone that warned her not to argue.

"I'll make sure to bring her to you," Kenshin said quietly, a shiver went up her spine when he turned his gaze back to her. Jack nodded and finished eating, he left the room with Pinako on his heels to prepare for the assessment.

"Kiba?" Kenshin was on his feet and looking down at her, slowly she pulled herself to her feet and followed him out of the room.

"I saw you take that bit of sushi," he looked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw her pale; "you're almost completely healed, aren't you?" She gulped and carried on walking until his hand around her arm stopped her, "Answer me!"

"You know my bloodline," she spoke hesitantly; "I don't have any superhuman healing skills but I have become accustomed to the pain, having lived with it for so long. In fact the pain that I am feeling now is less than before the surgery. What would you prefer? Me up and around or sat out of the way, caged in a room?" her voice became harsh. He snarled as his eyes fully turned yellow.

"Don't presume to think that I don't care!" he pushed her up against the wall and put a firm hand around her throat, not applying enough pressure that she would choke, her hands wrapped around his wrist as a whimper escaped her mouth, "Ever since I claimed you as part of my pack I have watched over you. I know the pain of feeling caged, don't think I don't!" He let go of her and she stood there trembling, with a sigh Kenshin turned away from her.

"Kiba, I just don't want you to get hurt, you are the first person who I have ever met who knows what it is like to be a wildling," his eyes slowly turned from yellow back to violet.

"Forgive me," she sank to her knees with her arms wrapped around her chest. He looked down at her for a moment before sweeping her into his arms.

"I just want you to understand, we are your family now and this is your home," his voice rumbled in her ear, "don't feel like you have to hide everything from us. We can deal with it together." She nodded reluctantly, still unused to placing her trust in humans, her heart warmed at the knowledge that she had been accepted here.

They walked into the room the doctor had set up as the assessment room, Kiba was still shaking slightly. Jack raised an eyebrow at her and then saw the glance that Kenshin sent him and decided not to ask.

"Remove you top and lay on your back so I examine you," he ordered, she did what he asked without so much of a word.

He inspected the wound and started in shock, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"How is that possible?" She looked round at him with confusion clear on her face.

"What's the matter?" Kenshin asked walking up to see what Jack was so surprised about.

"The wound has already healed into a scar, there's no way anyone could heal so fast…"

Kiba looked at Kenshin biting her lip in worry. He saw the expression on her face and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What I said before hasn't changed," he then turned to the doctor, "I think she might hate me for saying this but would you like to stay with us whilst you work out the mystery behind her advanced healing? And afterwards, if it so pleases you?"

"I think I would like that very much," Jack said with a frown.

"Please don't look at me like that, I'm not a lab rat," I backed away from the doctor's inquisitive gaze.

"Don't worry I won't experiment all at once," he grinned at her and she couldn't help but laugh along with him.

* * *

No matter how much Black Jack ran tests on the red haired wolfen girl, he was never able to find out why she was able to heal her wounds at twice the normal human rate. The only difference between her and any other human being was the makeup of her blood; however on examination there was nothing present that could have caused such a thing to happen.

Needless to say, he and Pinako lived out the rest of their lives at the Kamiya Dojo. Once Pinako had grown into a woman (12 years later), the doctor took her as his wife knowing that if he didn't then she wouldn't have been able to stay with them much longer, as there had been a boy in their area who had taken a liking to her. A year after they were married Pinako gave birth to a dark haired boy who Black Jack named Kuro.

Kiba disappeared for a couple of months before returning with a pack of stray dogs, much to Kaoru's disgust. Kiba trained these dogs and bred them and soon she became know nationwide to be able to train the best guard dogs around. This brought in a large amount of money into the Dojo, which allowed them all to live comfortable lives.

The number of students at the Dojo had tripled when Yahiko matured into adulthood; he became very handsome which brought in many girls who in turn brought in the boys of the neighbourhood.

* * *

A young hunter came into town and, having no place to stay, he took board at the Dojo. His instincts and the lithe way he moved caught Kiba's eye. At first she had kept out of his way until she had seen a flash of yellow appear when his eyes caught the light in a certain way.

"What are you up to?" Kenshin had silently walked up behind her and was surprised when he saw that her irises had changed to the wolfen piercing yellow.

"I need your help," she narrowed her eyes, "Battosai." His eyes instantly turned yellow and he followed her towards the young man who was sat watching the carp in the pond. Feeling someone behind him, he span around only to freeze when he saw their eyes. Instinctively his irises turned gold and his hackles rose.

"I was right," Kiba slowly approached him, "you are a wolfen, just like me." His eyes widened in surprise before they returned to their original colour. Tears welled in her eyes and threatened to spill over before he wiped them away.

"I've never met anyone who had the same bloodline as me," he fell to his knees and took in a deep breath. Kiba's expression softened as she knelt down beside him, Kenshin ruffled her hair before walking away leaving the two of them alone.

* * *

Soon after they were married and mated with a litter of their own.

Even to this day, there are remnants of their decedents, those who have lost their human appearance and now exist only as wolves, highly intelligent wolves who speak to one another with the words of man; and those who have inherited Kenshin's and Kaoru's bloodline have had their names carved into the history of the world as hero's of war and as peacemakers. If you every see one of these crimson haired children, know that there is a wolf never far away.


End file.
